Thread: Won’t be retro...

Originally Posted by roverrescue

It’s pretty funny to say big wheels are necessary for high speed

They are necessary because they look good

And perhaps fit bigger calipers
But then again what diameter are Formula1 wheels

Hmmm

Big wheels is bling

With a speed limit of 125kmh max in Australia
What is this high speed you talk of

18s are bigger than they need to be to pull up a 3T wagon if Toyota can do it on 17s

Bigger than 17 is **** and nothing more.

S

Fact wise low profiles are used for multiple reasons

1. Low profile tyres increase the rigidity of tyres which helps with high speed cornering and handling.

2. As already mentioned they also allow for larger brakes.

3. Looks

Its a juggling act for manufactures, it looks like LR will have wheel options to suit all driving scenarios on or offroad in the new defender so happy days.

Its been sorted with the D5, this will be even further improved with the new defender given the larger factory tyre size and lower factory wheel size options.

Agree it’s about caliper/ brake size but if Toyota can do adequate brakes on a 200series with 17” rims
and Ford can do it on an F250 with a 1.9T payload and 8.1T tow rating can do adequate brakes on 17”

JLR are either incompetent brake engineers or they do it for other reasons - which I am arguing are aesthetic - nothing more

Big black spoked rims look sexy
Especially with a bright red caliper inside

Nothing functional just bling

S

What should be remembered is that tyres are the easiest adjustable suspension component. Low profile severely limits the ability to adjust.

Originally Posted by roverrescue

Agree it’s about caliper/ brake size but if Toyota can do adequate brakes on a 200series with 17” rims
and Ford can do it on an F250 with a 1.9T payload and 8.1T tow rating can do adequate brakes on 17”

JLR are either incompetent brake engineers or they do it for other reasons - which I am arguing are aesthetic - nothing more

Big black spoked rims look sexy
Especially with a bright red caliper inside

Nothing functional just bling

S

Yep it's more expensive to do small brakes that break as well as the big set up on LR 19's...can be done but dearer.

Cheers

You reckon Ford is taking the expensive option on their massively selling F series utes?

Not a chance - if they can pull up a 2.8T F250 with 1.9T load more cheaply on 18s or 19s you reckon they wouldn’t make that saving

Bigger than 17s is purely aesthetics and marketing

S

European brakes are bigger and more powerful than rest of world. They have high speed autobahns and highways and customer expectations are higher. Look at the AMS test as one example. Can't compare a lumbering, low speed F-Series with... anything else actually And towing is irrelevant to brakes as the trailer does all of its own stopping.
The Landcruiser brakes would fail the AMS test miserably, as do almost all non Europeans. JLR put monster brakes on because that's the price of entry. BMW, Mercedes, etc all do the same. Compare a small/medium car brakes from Fiat, Renault, Ford, Opel, etc to something from SEAsia. Way bigger and better. Big brakes are expensive and they'd avoid it if they could. They put the smallest brakes on they can get away with, which is why they do several different sizes for each model (despite the tooling and engineering and complexity costs) depending on vehicle weight and performance. The old Defender had small brakes because that's all it needed. Therefore small wheels. New one will be a rocketship in comparison, so big brakes and big wheels. Lower engine outputs will have smaller brakes and higher outputs will have bigger brakes. It's been like that for decades and will continue.

You’ve obviously never driven on a freeway in USA if you think F250 are lumbering and low speed

I’ve been passed several times by a 250 towing a 35’ plus boat while I’m on cruise doing 85mph

I’m not arguing that euro cars do it
Obviously they do

But it is for aesthetics to as you say compete with the BMW crowd etc

If your point actually held water then Toyota 200s would not be able to be sold in Europe (but they are)

It’s guff and leads to problems for a vehicle that is supposed to be primarily for off-road work

S

It took the google bots nearly 30 seconds to find me this page


http://carsalesbase.com/european-car...-land-cruiser/

Nearly 600 cruiser sales a month in your European countries which can’t cope with 17s on a full size wagon ?